Balance sheet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of the financial balances of a sole proprietorship, a business partnership or a company. Assets, liabilities and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date, such as the end of its financial year. A balance sheet is often described as a "snapshot of a company's financial condition".[1] Of the four basic financial statements, the balance sheet is the only statement which applies to a single point in time of a business' calendar year. A standard company balance sheet has three parts: assets, liabilities and ownership equity. The main categories of assets are usually listed first, and typically in order of liquidity.[2] Assets are followed by the liabilities. The difference between the assets and the liabilities is known as equity or the net assets or the net worth or capital of the company and according to the accounting equation, net worth must equal assets minus liabilities.[3] Another way to look at the same equation is that assets equals liabilities plus owner's equity. Looking at the equation in this way shows how assets were financed: either by borrowing money (liability) or by using the owner's money (owner's equity). Balance sheets are usually presented with assets in one section and liabilities and net worth in the other section with the two sections "balancing."

Accountancy

Key concepts Accountant Bookkeeping Trial balance General ledger Debits and credits Cost of goods sold Double-entry system Standard practices Cash and accrual basis GAAP / IFRS Fields of accounting Cost Financial Forensic Fund Management Tax Financial statements Balance sheet Income statement Cash flow statement Equity Retained earnings Auditing Financial audit GAAS Internal audit SarbanesOxley Act Professional Accountants CPA Chartered Accountant CGA CMA ACCA

Records of the values of each account or line in the balance sheet are usually maintained using a system of accounting known as the double-entry bookkeeping system. A business operating entirely in cash can measure its profits by withdrawing the entire bank balance at the end of the period, plus any cash in hand. However, many businesses are not paid immediately; they build up inventories of goods and they acquire buildings and equipment. In other words: businesses have assets and so they can not, even if they want to, immediately turn these into cash at the end of each period. Often, these businesses owe money to suppliers and to tax authorities, and the proprietors do not withdraw all their original capital and profits at the end of each period. In other words businesses also have liabilities.

1 Origin 2 Types

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Balance sheet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_sheet

2.1 Personal balance sheet 2.2 US small business balance sheet 3 Public Business Entities balance sheet structure 3.1 Assets 3.2 Liabilities 3.3 Equity 4 Sample balance sheet structure 5 See also 6 References

It was the Flemish mathematician Simon Stevin who persuaded merchants to make it a rule to summarize accounts at the end of every year in a chapter entitled Coopmansbouckhouding op de Italiaensche wyse (Dutch: "Commercial Book-keeping in the Italian Way") of his Wisconstigheg hedachtenissen (Dutch: "Mathematical memoirs", Leiden, 160508). Although the balance sheet he required every enterprise to prepare every year was based on entries of the ledger, it was prepared separately from the major books of account. The oldest semi-public balance sheet recorded was that of the East India Company dated 30 April 1671, which was submitted to the company's General Meeting on in 30 August 1671. The publication and audit of the balance sheet was still a rarity in England until the passing of the Bank Charter Act 1844.[4]
Annual balance sheet written in cuneiform script. Sumeria, clay, ca. 2040 BCE. Department of Oriental Antiquities, Louvre.

A balance sheet summarizes an organization or individual's assets, equity and liabilities at a specific point in time. Individuals and small businesses tend to have simple balance sheets.[5] Larger businesses tend to have more complex balance sheets, and these are presented in the organization's annual report.[6] Large businesses also may prepare balance sheets for segments of their businesses.[7] A balance sheet is often presented alongside one for a different point in time (typically the previous year) for comparison.[8][9]

Personal balance sheet

A personal balance sheet lists current assets such as cash in checking accounts and savings accounts, long-term assets such as common stock and real estate, current liabilities such as loan debt and mortgage debt due, or overdue, long-term liabilities such as mortgage and other loan debt. Securities and real estate values are listed at market value rather than at historical cost or cost basis. Personal net worth is the difference between an individual's total assets and total liabilities.[10]

US small business balance sheet

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A really small business balance sheet lists current assets such as cash, accounts receivable, and inventory, fixed assets such as land, buildings, and equipment, intangible assets such as patents, and liabilities such as accounts payable, accrued expenses, and long-term debt. Contingent liabilities such as warranties are noted in the footnotes to the balance sheet. The small business's equity is the difference between total assets and total liabilities.[12]

Assets Cash

Sample Small Business Balance Sheet[11] Liabilities and Owners' Equity $6,600 Liabilities $30,000 $30,000 Accounts Payable Total liabilities

Accounts Receivable $6,200 Notes Payable

Tools and equipment $25,000 Owners' equity Capital Stock Retained Earnings Total $37,800 Total $7,000 $800 $7,800 $37,800

Total owners' equity

Guidelines for balance sheets of public business entities are given by the International Accounting Standards Committee and numerous country-specific organizations. Balance sheet account names and usage depend on the organization's country and the type of organization. Government organizations do not generally follow standards established for individuals or businesses.[13][14]
[15][16]

If applicable to the business, summary values for the following items should be included on the balance sheet:[17]

Assets
Current assets 1. 2. 3. 4. Cash and cash equivalents Inventories Accounts receivable Prepaid expenses for future services that will be used within a year

Fixed assets 1. 2. 3. 4. Property, plant and equipment Investment property, such as real estate held for investment purposes Intangible assets Financial assets (excluding investments accounted for using the equity method, accounts receivables, and cash and cash equivalents) 5. Investments accounted for using the equity method 6. Biological assets, which are living plants or animals. Bearer biological assets are plants or animals which bear agricultural produce for harvest, such as apple trees grown to produce apples and sheep raised to produce wool.[18]

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Liabilities
1. Accounts payable 2. Provisions for warranties or court decisions 3. Financial liabilities (excluding provisions and accounts payable), such as promissory notes and corporate bonds 4. Liabilities and assets for current tax 5. Deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets 6. Minority interest in equity 7. Issued capital and reserves attributable to equity holders of the Parent company 8. Unearned revenue for services paid for by customers but not yet provided

Equity
The net assets shown by the balance sheet equals the third part of the balance sheet, which is known as the shareholders' equity. Formally, shareholders' equity is part of the company's liabilities: they are funds "owing" to shareholders (after payment of all other liabilities); usually, however, "liabilities" is used in the more restrictive sense of liabilities excluding shareholders' equity. The balance of assets and liabilities (including shareholders' equity) is not a coincidence. Records of the values of each account in the balance sheet are maintained using a system of accounting known as double-entry bookkeeping. In this sense, shareholders' equity by construction must equal assets minus liabilities, and are a residual. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Numbers of shares authorized, issued and fully paid, and issued but not fully paid Par value of shares Reconciliation of shares outstanding at the beginning and the end of the period Description of rights, preferences, and restrictions of shares Treasury shares, including shares held by subsidiaries and associates Shares reserved for issuance under options and contracts A description of the nature and purpose of each reserve within owners' equity

The following balance sheet structure is just an example. It does not show all possible kinds of assets, equity and liabilities, but it shows the most usual ones. Because it shows goodwill, it could be a consolidated balance sheet. Monetary values are not shown, summary (total) rows are missing as well.

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Balance Sheet of XYZ, Ltd. as of 31 December 2006 ASSETS Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents Accounts receivable (debtors) Inventories Prepaid Expenses Investments held for trading Other current assets Fixed Assets (Non-Current Assets) Property, plant and equipment Less : Accumulated Depreciation Goodwill Other intangible fixed assets Investments in associates Deferred tax assets LIABILITIES and EQUITY Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (Current Liabilities) Accounts payable Current income tax liabilities Current portion of bank loans payable Short-term provisions Other current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year (Long-Term Liabilities) Bank loans Issued debt securities Deferred tax liability Provisions Minority interest

Equity Share capital Capital reserves Revaluation reserve Translation reserve Retained earnings

Balance sheet substantiation Income statement Minority interest Model audit National accounts Off-balance-sheet Reformatted balance sheet Sheet

1. ^ Williams, Jan R.; Susan F. Haka, Mark S. Bettner, Joseph V. Carcello (2008). Financial & Managerial Accounting. McGraw-Hill Irwin. pp. 40. ISBN 9780072996500. 2. ^ Daniels, Mortimer (1980). Corporation Financial Statements. New York: New York : Arno Press. pp. 1314. ISBN 0405135149. 3. ^ Williams, p.50 4. ^ Takatera, Sadao: Early experiences of the British balance sheet, Kyoto Universtity Economic Review, Vol. 83, October 1962, p.37-38, 41, 44-45 [1] (http://www.econ.kyoto-u.ac.jp/review/10000361.pdf)

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5. ^ "US Small Business Administration sample spreadsheet for a small business" (http://web.archive.org /web/20070715223932/http://www.sba.gov/library/balsheet.xls) . Archived from the original on 2007-07-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20070715223932/http://www.sba.gov/library/balsheet.xls. Retrieved 2003-08-10. 6. ^ Microsoft Corporation balance sheet, June 30, 2004 (http://www.microsoft.com/msft/ar04/nonflash /10k_fr_bs.html) 7. ^ International Business Machines "Global Financing" balance sheet comparing 2003 to 2004 (http://www.ibm.com /annualreport/2004/annual/md_8fc.shtml) 8. ^ Balance sheet comparing two year-end balance sheets (http://www.xbrl.org/taxonomy/int/fr/ifrs/ci/2003-07-15/ifrsci-2003-07-15_files/image016.jpg) 9. ^ "Balance sheet comparing two year-end balance sheets" (http://web.archive.org/web/20071019044218/http: //www.timberry.com/fm/BalanceSheet5-1-04.png) . Archived from the original on 2007-10-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20071019044218/http://www.timberry.com/fm/BalanceSheet5-1-04.png. Retrieved 2010-05-08. 10. ^ "Personal balance sheet structure" (http://web.archive.org/web/20080307003615/http://www.state.co.us/oed/sbdc /business/pbs.pdf) . Archived from the original on 2008-03-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20080307003615/http: //www.state.co.us/oed/sbdc/business/pbs.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-08. 11. ^ Williams, p. 50. 12. ^ Small Business Administration (http://www.sba.gov/services/financialassistance/basics/statement /finst_balsheet.html) 13. ^ "Personal balance sheet structure" (http://web.archive.org/web/20071119100727/http://www.fp.ucalgary.ca /financial/coa/balancesheet.htm) . Archived from the original on 2007-11-19. http://web.archive.org /web/20071119100727/http://www.fp.ucalgary.ca/financial/coa/balancesheet.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-08. 14. ^ University of Victoria (Canada) balance sheet accounts (http://www.finance.uvic.ca/accounts/bsvsop.shtml) 15. ^ State of Alabama (USA) balance sheet accounts (http://www.comptroller.state.al.us/pdfs/ChartofAccts/bacc.pdf) 16. ^ New York State (USA) public utilities balance sheet accounts (http://www3.dps.state.ny.us/N/nycrr16.nsf/Parts /763994601AEFFF5A85256FC80060B523?OpenDocument) 17. ^ "Presentation of Financial Statements" (http://www.iasplus.com/standard/ias01.htm) International Accounting Standards Board. Accessed 24 June 2007. 18. ^ Epstein, Barry J.; Eva K. Jermakowicz (2007). Interpretation and Application of International Financial Reporting Standards. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 931.. ISBN 9780471798231.

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